Wikipedia is an open source website where anyone can add, edit, and cite information on just about any topic.
Benefits of Using Wikipedia
Wikipedia can be used as a educational tool with benefits for teachers, students, and the greater population. In contrast to traditional writing assignments, working with Wikipedia has many advantages for students.
Benefits
Students are held accountable to a global audience for the contributions that they made and they realize that their work is beneficial, useful, and has an impact to the rest of the world.
Contributing to Wikipedia is much more rewarding and less artificial than contributing to class wikis.
Students often find contributing to Wikipedia as "fun".
Students learn the difference between fact-based and essay-writing style.
Since students often have to research beyond Wikipedia, they strengthen their ability to search for and evaluate reliable sources.
Students learn how to work in a collaborative, real-time, real-world environment.
Students gain insights into the creation process and reliability of articles on it.
Examples of ideas for utilizing Wikipedia in the classroom can be found here
Drawbacks of Using Wikipedia and How to Overcome Them
Using Wikipedia can be challenging to both the teacher and the student. You can overcome many of these challenges to be able to utilize Wikipedia to its fullest potential.
Challenges
Computer knowledge and ease of use. Some people do not have a wide range of knowledge on how to work computers or use the Internet. They may not have easy access to computers/internet. As of September 2016, Pew Research Center found that 13% of American adults still do not use the internet. In 2000, the percentage was 48%. Rural Americans are more likely to not use the internet.
Wikipedia can be edited by anyone with or without citations. Inaccurate information could be posted as fact.
Bias exists. All humans have a bias and this could be written unconsciously or consciously. In other published works, peers and professional editors read manuscripts to edit bias in the writing that is to inform viewers of facts about a study for example.
There could be a possibility of copyright infringement on images used. (E.g., Posting pictures of celebrities without their permission.)
In a classroom setting, the teacher could struggle keeping up with the posts and editing the posts for correct, factual content that follows the parameters of school policy.
To help overcome these challenges, can be found here, through lessons on how to research, work around bias, and use in the classroom.
Non-internet users are on a decline and many American schools are going towards a 1:1 technology program (in a survey Ed Tech found that more than 50% have a 1:1 program). This can help with the challenge of students not having easy access to technology and learn how to use technology.
Crovitz, Darren, and W. Scott Smoot. 2009. "Wikipedia: Friend, Not Foe." English Journal 98 (3): 91–97. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English. https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2920
Konieczny, Peter (2012). Wikis and Wikipedia as a teaching tool: Five years later.First Monday. Volume 17, Number 9.
Wikipedia as an Educational Resource
Overview
Wikipedia is an open source website where anyone can add, edit, and cite information on just about any topic.
Benefits of Using Wikipedia
Wikipedia can be used as a educational tool with benefits for teachers, students, and the greater population. In contrast to traditional writing assignments, working with Wikipedia has many advantages for students.
Benefits
Examples of ideas for utilizing Wikipedia in the classroom can be found here
Drawbacks of Using Wikipedia and How to Overcome Them
Using Wikipedia can be challenging to both the teacher and the student. You can overcome many of these challenges to be able to utilize Wikipedia to its fullest potential.
Challenges
To help overcome these challenges, can be found here, through lessons on how to research, work around bias, and use in the classroom.
Non-internet users are on a decline and many American schools are going towards a 1:1 technology program (in a survey Ed Tech found that more than 50% have a 1:1 program). This can help with the challenge of students not having easy access to technology and learn how to use technology.
Sources